Arrange the major developments in Harappan Archaeology in a chronological order:
(A) Report of Alexander Cunningham on Harappan seal.
(B) S.R. Rao begins excavations at Lothal.
(C) Daya Ram Sahni begins excavations at Harappa.
(D) Vasant Shinde begins archaeogenetic research at Rakhigarhi.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below
(A), (B), (C), (D)
(A), (C), (B), (D)
(B), (A), (D), (C)
(C), (B), (D), (A)
(A), (C), (B), (D)
The correct answer is (A), (C), (B), (D).
To arrange these major developments in Harappan Archaeology in chronological order, let us look at the year/period of each event:
1. (A) Report of Alexander Cunningham on Harappan seal: Alexander Cunningham, the founder of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), published his report on a Harappan seal in 1875.
2. (C) Daya Ram Sahni begins excavations at Harappa: Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni started the systematic excavations at the site of Harappa in the year 1921 under the guidance of Sir John Marshall.
3. (B) S.R. Rao begins excavations at Lothal: Archaeologist S.R. Rao began the excavations at the port town of Lothal in Gujarat in the year 1955 (excavations continued till 1960).
4. (D) Vasant Shinde begins archaeogenetic research at Rakhigarhi: Professor Vasant Shinde led the excavations and subsequent archaeogenetic research (DNA analysis of skeletal remains) at Rakhigarhi, which was conducted in the 2010s (with key findings published around 2018–2019).
Arranging these years in chronological order from earliest to most recent:
1875 (A) → 1921 (C) → 1955 (B) → 2010s (D)
Therefore, the correct chronological sequence is (A), (C), (B), (D).